Akira ducked under Jackson's scythe, the blade slicing the air above his head. He lunged forward, shoulder-first, slamming into Jackson's chest and sending him stumbling back.
Before Akira could sprint for the gate, Jackson's palms hit the ground. Black and white Tao crackled across the floor, the energy splitting like lightning veins before stabilizing.
Walls surged up from the ground, twisting into a solid cage around Akira.
Akira skidded to a stop, fists pounding against the barrier. "You've gotta be kidding me!"
Jackson smirked, breath steadying. He sprinted toward the shining white gate.
But Hinata moved faster. A burst of violet light bloomed in his hand — a swirling, star-shaped explosion. He hurled it past Jackson, the detonation ripping through the air and sending both of them flying in opposite directions.
Jackson rolled, landing hard. He threw up a shimmering wall of black Tao just in time to block the brunt of the blast.
"That was a clean block, wasn't it." he muttered, coughing. He sprinted again, eyes locked on the gate.
Akira broke through the weakened walls and tackled Jackson from behind. They both crashed to the floor, the scythe clattering from Jackson's grip — the blade stopping just inches above the ground. Somehow hanging right above Akira's neck, Akira then puts up his hands in defense
Dust hung thick in the air.
Jackson turned , panting. Hinata lay motionless nearby, his sword half-buried in rubble.
"Is he… good?" Jackson asked, uncertain.
He crouched, reaching toward Hinata's coat pocket when something glimmered inside — a faint, pulsing purple light.
"What the—"
It detonated.
A violet starburst exploded point-blank in Jackson's face, launching him backward in a spray of shattered stone and smoke.
Hinata rose slowly, five Tao stars hovering at his back like a glowing halo. His pupils, shaped like those same stars, flared.
"I got to pass!" he said through gritted teeth.
The stars shot forward. Jackson twisted and dodged, though a few bursts ripped through his jacket, leaving smoking holes.
"Tch… fine." He grabbed the torn fabric, Tao swirling through his hands. The jacket shifted, folding and spinning until it reshaped into a massive drill of swirling black-and-white energy.
"All of us want to pass, but I'm the only one who will."
He hurled it like a spear. The spinning Tao drill slammed into Hinata's chest, driving him into the wall hard enough to crack the stone. Jackson yanked the drill back, the weapon reforming around his arm.
The gate pulsed open behind him.
Without a word, Jackson walked through and vanished.
The light didn't fade. The gate stayed open.
Akira blinked, realization dawning. "Wait… It's still open. That means—"
"We all could have passed," Hinata finished weakly, blood trailing from his mouth as he pushed himself off the wall.
Akira turned toward the gate. "Then I'm not wasting it."
He sprinted.
"Aye!" Hinata shouted, voice hoarse. "We're not done yet!"
He drew his blade and flung it forward, propelling it with his strength. The sword whistled through the air. Akira twisted aside just in time, flipping over Hinata's next slash.
Stars burst past him, cutting arcs of violet light.
Akira clenched his fist. I need something stronger… something that can actually hit.Hinata's stars, Jackson's drill — both refined, powerful. His own Tao still felt wild, unshaped.
He gritted his teeth. If I just charge all my Tao into one arm…
But Ito's warning echoed in his head.
"Overcharging your Tao can lead to irreversible damage."
Akira ignored it. Power surged through his arm, golden energy spiraling out of control.
He lunged—
—and the world went white.
Pain. Pressure. Then nothing but ringing silence.
Akira fell to his knees, staring at the space where his arm had been.
Hinata froze mid-step, his sword lowering. "Akira… what did you—"
Blood pooled beneath Akira's hand. He tried to laugh, but it came out as a cough.
Hinata looked between him and the glowing gate, his expression twisting with conflict. "I'm not a killer, he died from his own doing."
Then movement caught his eye.
The man Akira was accused of killing — the one who'd collapsed earlier — slowly sat up, eyes dazed and unfocused.
Hinata's pupils shrank. "I'm wrong!"
He looked back at Akira, bleeding and barely conscious.
"Hold on," he muttered.
Hinata grabbed Akira under the arm — the one he still had — and forced him through the gate just as the timer hit zero.
Akira woke to the sound of his own heartbeat. His vision cleared slowly. His arm… it was there. Whole. Smooth skin, no scars, no pain. The gate healed him.
Hinata was gone.